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Rhythm and blues singer Billy Scott of 1960s–70s recording group the Prophets has died in North Carolina at age 70.

Scott was born Peter Pendleton in Huntington, W. Va. and sang with various groups while in the Army, but after he was discharged in 1964, he took a stage name. With his wife Barbara, they began recording in 1966 as the Prophets (also known as the Georgia Prophets, the Party Prophets and Creation).

Their first gold record was 1968’s “I Got the Fever.”

Scott was still able to deliver with the dance moves in recent performances as well:

Other hits included “California” and “Seaside Love” as the Georgia Prophets.

The current incarnation of Scott’s band, the Party Prophets, is continuing without him. They’ve scheduled several fundraising concerts to help his wife Gail with medical expenses. They also said on Facebook that they would be announcing details for Scott’s memorial service soon.

The group recorded a number of hits in the 1970s in the beach music genre, a regional variant of R&B. Scott was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 1999. Scott released his last album in 2006.

Bill Kopald with the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame said Scott died from pancreatic and liver cancer Saturday at his home in Charlotte. Scott had just performed for his 70th birthday last month.

Scott’s cancer had taken a turn for the worse, with doctors earlier this month looking at chemotherapy while Scott had been eager to get back to performing, according to his band’s Facebook page. He also said at the time that he wanted the band’s other singer, Cindy Floyd, to keep playing with the Party Prophets until he could join them on stage, according to the group’s Facebook page. Hospice was later called in to take care of Scott in his final days.

Previously in Without A Net

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